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Destruction Zone version 1.0 Copywrite (c) 1992 Julian Cochran ________________________________________________________________________________ D-Zone may only be copied under the following conditions ONLY THE STATED FILES ARE TO BE DISTRIBUTED ANY OTHER FILES MUST BE ERASED BEFORE DISTRIBUTION NO PARTS OF ANY OF THE STATED FILES MAY BE ALTERED NO MONEY APART FROM DISK COSTS IS TO BE INVOLVED STATED FILES: DZONE.EXE, DZONE.DOC, DZONE.GDA, DTITLE.GDA, EGAVGA.GDA, SETUP.EXE ________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS: About the Game . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Real Game . . . . . . . . . . 2,3 Keyboard Option Screen . . . . . . . . 4 Controlling Tank . . . . . . 4 Changing Tank Controls . . . 5 Shopping keys . . . . . . . . 5 Scoring System . . . . . . . . . . 6 Information on items Tanks . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Weapons . . . . . . . . . . 8..12 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Robot tanks . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . 14 page 2 ABOUT THE GAME Destruction Zone is a science fiction tank war game. It requires a VGA card and will run on any PC/AT machine. Although written for a 486, D-Zone runs at a similar speed on slower computers by lowering the detail of movement. DESTRUCTION ZONE - THE REAL GAME Somewhere in our galaxy lies a quietly floating station, illuminated by the stars, but very dark inside. From time to time a group of challengers travel to the station and turn on the lights, transforming the 'Dark Zone' into the 'Destruction Zone'. The station is large in area, but the ceiling lies only a few metres above the floor. It is the battle field for the most famous war game in the galaxy. A series of triangular tanks, made up entirely of three huge cylinders, are teleported into the zone and hover in their positions, repelled from the floor and ceiling by strong electric forces. The liquid fuel of each tank can be seen splashing around inside each cylinder and by looking closely inside, many wires and tubes are also visible. Due to the radioactive fuels used, each tank glows softly in a unique colour. As the Destruction Zone becomes even brighter, the tanks start to move. The first round has begun. The tank controllers switch between a range of weapons, blasting their foes in all directions. page 3 As time passes, the tanks glow dimmer, for they are all low on weapon fuel. They wait in corners, absorbing the Zone light until they glow brighter, and then they launch another attack. When a tank has taken too much damage, it is teleported out of the Zone with the unharmed controller, so everyone lives to play another game. From all around the galaxy, the D-Zone enthusiasts await the next scoreboard update. Every three rounds, competitors are allowed to spend their hard-earned money in a special D-Zone shop, where advanced weaponry and special tools can be bought for a suitable price. Sometimes there are not enough willing to play the game which is why robot tanks are often required. Many different robots are available for play, some having special advantages that make them a challenge for even the best known players. This game is a simulation of the game described above, with each tank being represented by a three point vector image, and controlled using a combination of six different keys: Forwards, backwards, turn left, turn right, change weapon, and fire. The background is generated randomly at the beginning of each round and the Destruction Zone is viewed from above. Most of the game is easy to work out without any instructions, so the rest of this manual only contains information about what each key does, the scoring system, and a description of each shop item and robot tank. page 4 KEYS USED IN THE OPTION SCREEN: CURSOR KEYS Change hi-lighted box. RETURN or SPACEBAR Toggle information in box. To select a human player, move the hi-light to player 1 box and press RETURN until a cursor appears in the box. Now enter name and press RETURN once more. It is important to know which box corresponds to which player: PLAYERS x PLAYER 1 PLAYER 4 ROUNDS xx PLAYER 2 PLAYER 5 HOSTILE MODE PLAYER 3 PLAYER 6 Only the first three players can be controlled from the keyboard. The keys for each player are shown below, but may be redefined by running SETUP.EXE DEFAULT KEYS USED FOR CONTROLLING TANKS: PLYR 1 PLYR 2 PLYR 3 ACTION UP W P Move forward DOWN X ? Move backwards LEFT A L Rotate towards the left RIGHT D " Rotate towards the right PAGE UP E { Change weapon HOME Q O Fire current weapon If you want to end the round press ESC. This is used for those that can't be bothered waiting for the robot tanks to finish the round. By pressing ESC, the remaining players receive a predicted score and money bonus depending on how much weapon energy and shield energy each tank has. Refer to the scoring section on the next page for more further details about quitting with ESC. page 5 SETUP.EXE - CHANGING KEYS FOR CONTROLLING TANKS: You may find the default tank controls to be rather awkward, in which case you should redefine them (for any of the players) using SETUP. Do not be afraid to change the settings in SETUP, after all, hitting RETURN through any of the questions results in the default settings being used. Some keyboards will not register certain keys when certain other keys are being pressed. This will cause problems when more than one person is using the keyboard. There is no solution to this problem except to experiement with different keys (redefined in SETUP), until no conflicts occur. SETUP.EXE is also used for: 1) Choosing what kind of sound is to be used. 2) Registering the game. 3) Allowing game to double in speed when only robot tanks remain. KEYS USED IN SHOPPING SCREEN: CURSOR KEYS Change hi-lighted box. RETURN or SPACEBAR Buy a weapon, end shopping, abort game, save current game, or load a different game. PAGE UP or HOME View information on the current item. If the cursor does not move for a few seconds, the item information is automatically requested. page 6 SCORING: TANK POINTS - TEAMS MODE AND HOSTILE MODE KILLING A TANK: 3 points DAMAGING A TANK: 1 point for every unit of damage done (up to 40 points) A tank takes 40 units of damage to be destroyed, so 43 points can be earned for a complete kill. Hitting a tank with good armour means that each hit does less damage, so each hit must also earn a lower score. For this reason it is best to pick on the tanks with poor armour first, to get the most out of your weapon energy. In team mode, additional tank points are earned for firing at the enemy jewel. This means that it is a good idea to fire at the jewel while it is slowing down, when all the enemy tanks have been destroyed. TEAM POINTS - TEAMS MODE ONLY A team receives 1 point for every unit of damage done to the enemy's jewel - up to 50 points. A jewel continually receives damage after all members of the team are out. No team points are earned for destroying or damaging tanks, although tank points are still obtained this way. The team leader is the player who has the highest tank score. Tanks points are lost for firing at members of the same team. GETTING MONEY Ten credits are received for every unit of damage done, either to tanks if jewels, in team mode. For standard tank, up to 400 credits could be received, but for a well armoured tank, a complete kill could earn over twice as many credits. No bonus credits are received for making the final hit to a tank, even though three 'tank points' are earned. THE STATISTICS BOARD Every 15 rounds, and at the end of the game, a statistics board appears after the score board. The information shown has no real importance but may be to the player's interest. page 7 INFORMATION ON ITEMS: There are three different types of items: TANKS, WEAPONS, and TOOLS. The prices of each item increases slightly as the tank's score increases. Sometimes some of the special weapons do not seem to be worth the money, but they were all put into the game for a reason. It might require a bit of imagination to use some of them effectively. The descriptions given may contain some useful ideas. TANKS: Each tank has four attributes: Speed (forwards and backwards), rotational speed, armour and size. Upgrades for rotation, speed, and armour can be bought for the same price as the tank. If you have bought upgrades for a tank and then buy a new tank, the upgrades are NOT carried across to the new tank. This means that is a good idea to buy upgrades only for what you consider to by your final tank - depending on how many rounds are to be played. STANDARD TANK This is the tank that all players start with. It has a moderate armour, but moves and turns slower than all the other tanks. Price: 1000. ROTRA I This 'Rotation Tank' was the first non-standard tank used for D-Zone combat. It has a much better rate of rotation and has improved armour. Price 2000. ROTRA II The compact version of the ROTRA I was designed for even better manouvorbility. Although its poor armour makes it a quick kill for many, this tank can be considered as the best when used well. Price: 2000. OPEC I The expensive OPEC series were designed for faster traverse speed, while maintaining the ROTRA rotation standards and having excellent armour. Price: 3200. OPEC II A high price is required for the OPEC II - a smaller version of the original OPEC, with even better armour and a faster turning rate. OPEC II upgrades take a while to save up for. Price: 4500. page 8 WEAPONS: Each tank has seven weapon ports, used for different purposes, and each weapon occupies a particular port. The first port is always used for the front fire weapons, the second port for Blasters, and so on. When a new weapon is purchased, a '1' appears in the right of the window This means that the weapon can be fired up to 100 times. The same weapon can be bought up to 9 times, giving a maximum of 900 fires. Be careful when buying new weapons. New weapons replace any number of old weapons of the same port without warning. Use the PAGE UP key before you buy any new weapon, or you may be replacing an even better weapon. DESCRIPTIONS: [Tank port used] [Weapon Name] [Damage/Energy] [Description] (abbreb) [Minimum Price] PORT 1 (Front Fire) MISSILE 3/4 This is the weapon that all tanks start with. It no (MISIL) 2 more powerful than the price suggests (10 credits). LIGHT TRACER 0/0 This weapon uses no energy, does no damage, and it (TRACE) 5 costs almost nothing. Tracers are only useful for working out where the next missile will go. DOUBLE MISSILE 6/5 Double the power of the standard missile for only a (DOUBL) 80 little more energy usage. This weapon is a good buy for the first few rounds. BEAM LASER 6/6 The main advantage of all lasers is that no tank can (LASER) 150 avoid them once fired. Unfortunately this single beam laser isn't very energy efficient. page 9 TRIPLE MISSILE 9/6 The Triple Missile is the next step after the Double (TRIPL) 800 Missile. Due to its slow speed but high damage, this weapon is best used for close range combat. POWER LASER 12/6 Power Lasers fire two Beam Lasers by only using the (POWER) 1700 energy of only one. A very deadly weapon, requiring good aiming skills. TRI-STRIKER 18/6 The Tri Striker, used with RAPID FIRE, is the most (STRIK) 2800 dangerous weapon of all. It is important to be sure that all three beams are hitting the target, or the weapon's great power is not really being used. PORT 2 (Blasters) BLASTER 48/15 The blasters use the double fire system, where the (BLAST) 550 first fire sends out the warhead and the second fire breaks the warhead up into a group of missiles. The warheads break up automatically when they hit a wall or the tank. The best way to use blasters is to fire at the side of the tank rather than the head. GUIDE BLASTER 48/20 A blaster with a guided warhead - suitable for the (G.BST) 1100 desperate situation when there's no time for careful aiming. BLAST GUIDER 48/25 The opposite effect to the GUIDE BLASTER. The BLAST (B.GUI) 1100 GUIDER is a normal warhead that breaks into a group of guided missiles. A common use for this weapon is to release the guiders in an open screen, some dist- ance away from the enemies. NUKE BLASTER 144/40 This is the big version of the standard Blaster. It (N.BST) 3050 only takes two or three, and sometimes only one good hit to completely destroy a fully shielded tank. Since the weapon is not fired many times, it ends up being very good value, but must be aimed carefully. page 10 PORT 3 (Surprise Attack) REAR DOUBLE 8/8 Two missiles are fired parallel out from the rear of (REAR1) 80 the tank. The weapon makes a good surprise attack. REAR GUIDED 8/8 The REAR GUIDED is a REAR DOUBLE which is guided. It (GREAR) 750 is so effective that many like to use it as their main weapon. Some even drive backwards and use it on the front! TWIN SEEKERS 8/6 Twin Seekers are used for firing around a block, or (TWIN) 1200 for surprising tanks at the side. They can also be used for long distance attacking, since they have a good damage/energy ratio compared to other guided missiles. REAR TRIPLE 18/8 The REAR TRIPLE is the improved version of the REAR (REAR2) 2200 DOUBLE, doing over twice the damage for the same energy use. A high price is required for this high powered and highly efficient weapon. PORT 4 (Special Front Fire) TRI BREAKER 15/12 A very damaging low priced weapon. On second firing, (T.BRK) 150 the missile breaks up into three missiles, each able to do 5 units of damage. The most effect way to use Tri Breakers and Quint Breakers is to fire carefully at the tank without breaking the missile, allowing it to break up automatically inside the tank, doing the maximum damage. GUIDED-V1 4/5 This is the basic guided missile. It only requires (GUID1) 120 approximate aiming to hit the target. Since it has a poor damage/energy ratio, guided missiles are only valuable to players having bad aiming skills. GUIDED-V2 4/5 A very effective guided missile. Blind firings of (GUID2) 450 this weapon usually results in a series of direct hits. Unfortunately the GUIDED-VERSION 2 is no more damaging than the earlier version. page 11 QUINT BREAKER 25/15 These work the same way as Tri Breakers but instead (Q.BRK) 1400 releasing five missiles instead of three. This weapon makes an excellent close range attack. QUINT GUIDER 25/20 The Quint Guider is identical to the Quint Breaker (Q.GUI) 1700 except that it produces guided missiles, and uses up a only a little more power - a brilliant weapon. ELECTRON BOLT 14/8 This weapon is extremely dangerous when it is used (BOLT) 2500 properly. It was designed as a long distance weapon, but should be aimed at the closest tank only - the bolt has a slight attraction to the closest tank. PORT 5 (Defence) SWIRLER 8/4 A missile is released that swirls around the tank. (SWIRL) 120 Swirlers are usually fired in large numbers to get rid of touching or chasing tanks. ELECTRO BUDS 12/5 Three slow moving guiders are released, each with a (ELECT) 300 very effective guiding system. When fired in large numbers they can act as a 'deadly mist'. BOMBS ?/? Bombs vary in power and price, but all use a double (BOMB?) ??? fire system for dropping and detonating. Bombs are usually used against robot tanks since they have no skills for avoiding them. Sometimes bombs can be dropped in an area where the enemy is forced to move over, usually in teams mode. SELF DESTRUCT 250/0 The explosion produced during self destruction can (DESTR) 0 actually destroy another fully shielded tank if the two tanks are wedged facing each other. PORT 6 (Special Defence) DEATH TOUCH 8/4 Suddenly a high energy current is thrown around the (TOUCH) 200 tank, damaging all tanks in contact. It should be fired repeatedly since uses only a small amount of energy. page 12 ECM HACKER 0/3 The Hacker destroys a portion of the close missiles. (HACK) 200 It is used for 'blocking' attacks from slow moving but dangerous missiles. ECM WIPER 0/6 The Wiper destroys every missile in the zone. It is (WIPE) 700 usually used to aid a friend in teams mode. ECM CONFUSOR 0/0 Without using up any energy, this device causes all (ECM) 480 guided missiles to ignore the tank. It has many uses but is particularly useful for players who are fast at selecting their weapons. PORT 7 (Harmless) HEALER 4/6 The Healers convert weapon energy to shield energy. (HEAL) 350 This Healer is only used when the player has excess weapon energy but is critically down on shields. GLOW SHIELD 0/15 Glow shields give complete protection for just a few (GLOW) 800 seconds. They are used for getting away from a bunch of close fighting tanks or for attacking in safetly. The best use is to turn the shield on, move up very close to a tank, and fire a highly damaging short range weapon, such as QUINT BREAKER. FADE SHIELD 0/20 The FADE SHIELD is a cloaking device. It works by (FADE) 1200 bending light around the tank, and then letting it resume its original direction, effectively letting light pass right through the tank. Not only does the tank become invisible, the tank is also unharmed by missiles. There are hundreds of ways GLOW and FADE shields can be used, requiring some imagination. The GLOW shield lasts twice as long as a FADE shield. TELEPORTATION 0/10 This device is useful for escaping from desperate (TELEP) 2000 situations or for freeing yourself when stuck. It uses a very small amount of energy when considering its fantastic power. FUSION HEALER 15/15 This is the 100% efficient version of the standard (FHEAL) 1800 healer. Intelligent players are always happy to buy this item once enough money is saved. page 13 TOOL DESCRIPTIONS: RED DOT - A red dot appears inside the tank whenever the current weapon is not fireable. It's low price makes it a standard add-on for most. TANK UPGRADES - You can buy tank upgrades involving speed, rate of rotation, and armour. Each upgrade costs the same price as the tank, and it is only possible to buy one of each upgrade per tank. SHOPPING CARD - The common shoppers can buy a D-Zone discount membership and receive all items for only 75% the original price - a definite requirement for the long round games. SCORE BRIBE - It takes no effort to make a simple deal with the guy who controls the score board. FUEL UPGRADE - This upgrade to the weapon fuel increases the damage of the weapons by 65%. Although the chemicals used are highly expensive, this is the standard fuel for Hunters and Seekers, so they need not buy this item. RAPID FIRE - This item enables rapid firing with port 1 weapons. DESCRIPTION OF ROBOT TANKS: R1 PROTOTYPE - The very first robot - a competent competitor, but still the lowest ranking tank. It has poor shopping skills and is slow at making decisions. R2 SHOOTER - The Shooters were a fairly big improvement over the PROTOTYPE due to a faster scanning rate. They like to use long range firing, but make no checks to see if they are firing through walls. R3 SEEKER - This type of robot avoids the long range fighting style and saves all of its weapon energy for quick kills at short range. They have a very fast firing rate which makes them an extremely dangerous enemy at close range. It wasn't until that Seekers arrived that robots viewed as serious competators. R4 HUNTER - The Hunters will usually defeat any other robot tank and only the fairly skilled players can beat a group of six Hunters. They use long distance firing when appropriate, and can fire at a faster rate than the Seekers. page 14 REGISTRATION (How do I remove that annoying message?) This final page is the most important part of this documentation as far as the author is concerned. If you enjoy this game, I encouraged you to show your respected appreciation by sending $10 to the author. For this you will receive a password, corresponding to your name, that removes the annoying message at the start of the game. Remember that further development to this game is based on how much support I get from the players, so please send me a letter. Payers may want to send an extra $5 to receive the latest version of D-Zone on disk. Each new version of D-Zone is available to payers for some time before that version is released publicly as Shareware. The price is cheap, and if you enjoy this game, the new versions are definately worth having. If you like, include a note explaining any improvements you would wish to see in the game, your ideas may be found in the next version. Send $10 (with comments) to: Julian Cochran 43 Bellevue Drive Bellevue Heights South Australia, 5050 Later versions of D-Zone may include various new weapons, tools and tanks, dynamic support for the Sound Blaster card, more intelligent robot opponents, and whatever else truly improves the game.